| AHW MINISTRIES NEWSLETTER About His Work with Janet August 2017  |
While reading an online devotional, two lines struck me as meant just for me, but maybe you'll relate too: "There are things that need to come into line with my plans and purposes before you can move forward, says the Lord. Be patient." Ecclesiastes 7:8 The end of a thing is better than its beginning; the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
Anyone who knows me personally knows that I've never been a particularly patient person, a trait I've strived to develop my entire life. I'm animated, excitable, and as a child, I was probably ADHD. My mother was always trying to keep things from me because she didn't appreciate my exuberance. But I also had the sleuth trait and would usually figure out what she was up to, and yes, get super excited and impatient.
As I've grown older, I still get excited and find it difficult to wait. That is unless I have a looming book deadline or far too many things planned on my calendar. My husband and I were just discussing last night, where did the summer go? I had such great plans to write all my guest blogs, which will appear on friend's blogs starting the day
Mentoring for All Seasons: Sharing Life Experiences and God's Faithfulness
releases September 12, and almost every day from September through October! While I'm super excited about the book release, it's less than two weeks away and the blogs aren't finished!
So now, I'm torn. Can't wait for book release day when so many women will be holding it in their hands and learning more about mentoring in their season of life, but not wanting August to be over because that was my catch up month. You probably noticed this newsletter is barely getting to you in August, same thing last month.
Maybe you're tracking with me because you feel the same way. You expected to be further along on a project, but you can't wait for the day it's revealed or finished.
With all that's happening in my life, I'm praying that everything will come into line and agreement with God's plan and purpose so I can move forward. Many of you are starting your Mentoring Ministries this fall, and I'm very excited for you and praying it's in God's timing for your church. Some are having your Orientation Coffees and mentors and mentees will begin life-changing relationships with God and with each other. I'm excited about that too and hope you'll send us your stories.
For all of us, I pray we'll share the joy of the Lord as we enthusiastically and patiently go about our life and not become entangled with the stresses of this world. So I'm going to enjoy the excitement of the release of
Mentoring for All Seasons
,
which I patiently waited for twenty years to write because I knew it wasn't God's timing. I trust now it's in perfect alignment with His purpose and plan, and well . . . the blogs always get written.
How about you what is God asking you to be excited about while patiently waiting for it to come to fruition?
PSSS: Read the
Author Interview with Pam Farrel, Jean E. Jones, and Karla Dornacher about their book,
Discovering Hope In The Psalms,
and a chance to win a free copy.
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FEATURED BOOK OF THE MONTH
Mentoring For All Seasons
Sharing Life Experiences and God's Faithfulness
Mentoring for All Seasons helps answer questions like these:
- What is mentoring?
- How do I find a mentor? How do I mentor?
- Why does God want us to mentor one another?
- What are the blessings of mentoring?
Through true stories from mentors and mentees in life seasons from tween through twilight-along with the author's personal experiences, helpful tips, Scriptures to study together, and biblical mentoring relationship examples-
Mentoring for All Seasons encourages women to be intentional about sharing their life experiences and God's faithfulness with other women.
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I Would Love to Speak at Your Event!
about your event
call or email to discuss availability.
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TALK TO US
This Months featured
Woman To Woman
Mentoring Ministry Testimony
Hi Janet,
One Sunday at Saddleback Church, there was an announcement about a "Woman to Woman Mentoring Coffee" to learn about mentoring and becoming either a "mentor" or "mentee." I attended the coffee and enjoyed myself immensely.
I was matched with my mentor, Ellie, who had two girls ages two and five, and my daughter was three-years-old. We had a lot to share! Although I was officially the mentee, we decided early on we would be "co-mentors," and share and encourage each other in this new-mom season of life.
Over the years, we each moved to different states, but when I speak with Ellie, a trial turns into a lesson. Our girls are now in college and God has used Ellie on numerous occasions to help me see a situation from God's perspective. She sends CDs on parenting and inspirational books to help shape my life. The mentoring coffee turned into a gift that will last a lifetime. I'm so grateful God put it on the heart of one woman to take action on a ministry idea-Ellie and I are forever changed. [As told by Katie Keller]
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Mentoring Tip
"It's wise for the mentor to remember that lecturing, scolding, and using Scripture as a weapon is not effective." Mentoring for All Seasons
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"GRAMMIE'S CORNER"
As our grandkids and kids head back to school, let's all remember to pray for them and their teachers.
There are so many things being taught in our schools today that don't align with our Christian values, so we need to make sure we ask the kids regularly what they're being taught to be sure we agree with it. If not, do not hesitate to tell the children the truth, why it's the truth, and give them tools to deal with teachers who might be interjecting their own views instead of facts.
Gone are the days when we can send our children off to school and let the teachers do all the teaching.
If you are a teacher, I pray that you're finding a way to be sure everything you teach these young minds aligns with God's principles and not the culture.
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Meet An Author
Discovering Hope in the Psalms: A Creative Bible Study Experience
Pam Farrel and her husband, Bill, are the authors of 40+ books, including
Men Are Like Waffles-Women Are Like Spaghetti, and they co-direct Love-Wise ministry.
Jean E. Jones is a contributing writer for Crosswalk.com and a member of the International Society for Women in Apologetics.
Karla Dornacher has written and illustrated 15 Christian gift books.
[Interview with Jean E. Jones]
What inspired you to write this book?
Years ago, a large church asked me to write a lesson on Psalm 71. I was writing computer curriculum and teaching computer classes at the time, so I knew learning requires immediate acting on what's been heard or read. Since the psalms are meant to teach us how to pray, I thought the perfect activity would be to walk the women through writing a personal prayer psalm. The women loved writing their psalm of hope! I've wanted to write this book ever since.
Why do women need hope?
This world is a dark place. The media bombard us with negative news, disasters, and sky-is-falling speculations. Sin wounds everyone we know and mars our relationships. We all grieve unexpected losses and unmet expectations.
But God's Word gives us hope both for now and for eternity. The Psalms help us discover hope and teach us to pray in a way that places our hope in God.
What's unique about Discovering Hope in the Psalms?
What's unique is how we combine in-depth study with so many fun ways to learn! Let me begin with my co-authors' contributions. Pam is a gifted encourager, and she wrote eight encouraging Hope Alive devotionals that cheer readers on with delightful stories.
Karla drew eight gorgeous, full-page illustrations and eight traceable bookmarks to color. Her art adorns nearly every page. Karla also wrote Creative Connections that explain how to use art to meditate on Scripture.
I wrote the in-depth Bible lessons on the ten Psalms of hope that are covered in the book's eight chapters. The lessons guide readers in writing a prayer psalm on the My Psalm pages that end the chapters. I also put extra tidbits for seasoned Christians and detail lovers in sidebars called "The Little Details."
Pam and I together came up with optional creative activities to fit different personalities. Additionally, all of us provided extras on the book's website. For example, Pam made pretty printable forms to use when studying the Bible on your own and Karla created amazing how-to videos.
What inspired you to offer so many creative options?
Since engaging multiple senses increases learning, I had added some optional creative activities to most chapters. When I showed them to Pam, she said to add many more and suggested Karla Dornacher create coloring artwork. So we all teamed up together to create something better than any of us alone could have done.
To learn more about the authors and their book, visit the
website.
For a chance to win a free copy of
Discovering Hope in the Psalms: A Creative Bible Study Experience,
contact me.
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